


The Shooting

by Shaenequa



Category: Hawaii Five-O (1968)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:55:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29787468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaenequa/pseuds/Shaenequa
Summary: Chin momentarily froze with shock when he saw the suspect's face in the dim light before his eyes drifted across to the second body which was staring back at him with sightless eyes, only feet away, in the semidarkness before he looked back in horror and disbelief at the man he had just shot. Dropping to his knees, he pulled out his handkerchief and pressed it, with a shaking hand, against the small bloody hole in Danny’s upper chest as he whispered, desperately, "Oh God, what have I done? ... Danny?... Danny?... Can you hear me, Danny?... Danny?"-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

"Danny!"

Chin saw Danny look back over his shoulder just long enough to see him point in the direction that Edwards had disappeared before Danny changed direction and ran towards one of the old World War Two cement military bunkers that were built into the side of Diamond Head. Veering to the right, Chin followed the two men as they both disappeared down the stairs that led into the damp, man-made maze of caverns below. With his gun drawn, he cautiously descended the stairs before hearing the sound of running feet reverberating through the semi-darkness somewhere ahead of him.

Pausing a heartbeat as he reached the bottom of the stairs, Chin carefully peered around the corner of the open heavy steel doors. Several bullets suddenly ricocheted against the wall only inches from his head, spraying his face with several small slivers of cement and causing him to duck back behind the safety of the cement wall. Clutching his gun a little tighter, he heard Danny yell, "Hold it, Edwards!"

Stepping out from the stairway, he begun to run in the direction of the two sets of running footsteps as they faded into the darkness of the tunnel, following the two dark figures that he could just make out in the poorly lit the tunnel into which Danny had chased Edwards.

Chin heard Danny shout again for Edwards to drop his weapon before he heard the distinct sounds of a violent scuffle somewhere ahead. Suddenly two gunshots rang out, echoing through the tunnel. With an extra burst of speed, Chin rounded the curve in the tunnel and stopped when, in the small sliver of light given off by the small guidance light located in the ceiling above, he could make out the dark shape of someone lying, motionless, on the ground as a second figure crouched above them with what appeared to be a gun in his hand.

Yelling at the figure to drop his weapon, Chin only had enough time to fire his own gun when the dark figure spun around, the dim light reflecting off the metal barrel of the gun that the figure held in his hand. The impact of Chin's bullet threw the figure backwards onto the hard ground where the figure crashed, heavily, onto his back and did not move.

Quickly crossing the few steps that separated them with his gun still trained on the unmoving suspect's chest, Chin leaned down to grab the gun from the suspect's lax hand. He momentarily froze with shock when he saw the suspect's face in the dim light before his eyes drifted across to the second body which was staring back at him with sightless eyes, only feet away, in the semidarkness before he looked back in horror and disbelief at the man he had just shot.

Dropping his own weapon to the ground, Chin dropped to his knees as he quickly felt for a pulse. He held his breath until he was certain he felt the weak, regular thump under his fingertips. Quickly reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his handkerchief and pressed it, with a shaking hand, against the small bloody hole in Danny's upper chest as he whispered, desperately, "Oh God, what have I done? ... Danny?... Danny?... Can you hear me, Danny?... Danny?"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Stepping across to where the body was lying as his partner hurried across to speak to the uniformed officers, Ray Vernon glanced around the now brightly lit tunnel. He paused and watched as Che Fong carefully maneuvered his tweezers into a small hole in the wall, just opposite of where he was standing before extracting the remains of what appeared to be a bullet and dropping it into a small plastic evidence bag.

Looking back at the body, he ignored the flash of the camera as the police photographer took photos of the discarded gun that lay near the body's outstretched hand as he knelt beside the coroner and asked, "What have we got, Doc?"

"He was killed by a single gunshot round, fired at close range to the chest. There's gunshot powder stippling and burn marks around the entry wound. It entered the front of his chest, probably hit his heart on the way through before exiting out of the center of his back." The coroner told the IA officer as he dropped the sheet back over the body and nodded at his attendants that they could now remove the body, "I suspect that he was dead before he even hit the ground, but I will be able to tell you more when I do the autopsy." Bergman continued as they rose to their feet, tilting his head in the general direction of the wall that Ray had just watched Che remove the bullet, "I'm willing to bet the bullet Che just dug out of the wall over there is the same one that killed him."

Ray nodded, "Thanks Doc, Lou's gunna want the autopsy report on his desk as fast as you can."

"Of course," the coroner grumbled distractedly as he supervised the transfer of the body into the body bag.

Turning around, Ray watched his partner look up at the tunnel's ceiling before looking back towards the body as the forensic scientist was explaining something to him. He saw Lou nod and lightly slap the forensic expert on the shoulder before Lou walked back across to where he was waiting.

"So, what did Bergman have to say?" the senior IA officer asked, joining Ray as the coroner's attendants carried the stretcher past before they turned and followed them through poorly lit tunnel.

"Edwards was killed instantly. Bergman thinks the bullet went through the heart. He will be able to confirm that after the autopsy. But whatever happened, Bergman said the gun was fired at close range, there's gunshot stippling around the entry wound. The bullet went right through and lodged in the wall behind him."

"Makes sense with what Fong thinks initially happened here. There's signs of a struggle and a bullet lodged in the roof directly over the body." Lou told his younger partner.

"So, what do you think happened?"

"I think Williams and Kelly chased Edwards into the bunker. Fong said that Williams's and Edwards's guns both have two bullets missing from the chambers. We know that two bullets were fired near the stairs, I suspect that two the bullets found there will match the bullets in Edwards's gun. I think Williams caught up with Edwards here in the tunnel and there was some sort of a struggle between them."

"And Edwards lost his gun." Ray nodded in agreement of his partner's scenario as he remembered the gun on the ground next to the body.

"Edwards probably then tried to grab for Williams's gun, the gun went off, one bullet lodged in the ceiling-" Lou continued.

"And the other bullet hit Edwards in the chest." Ray finished for him before frowning. "But that doesn't explain how Kelly came to shoot Williams."

"That, my young friend, is the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question." Lou told him.

"So, what do you think happened?" Ray's frown deepened. "Do you think the shooting was an accident or maybe something else?"

"Something else, like what?" Lou asked, pleased to find his young partner was starting to look for possible alternate motives in their investigations.

Ray fell silent for a moment, mentally searching for another viable motive other than an accident before he suggested quietly, "Maybe something else like... like Kelly being jealous after being overlooked for promotion when McGarrett made Williams his Second-in-Command a few weeks ago?"

Lou shook his head, "No, we can check that out but I know Kelly has turned down McGarrett's offer to make him his Second-in-Command several times in the past. From what I heard on the coconut wireless, Kelly preferred to remain as a Five-O detective and believed being promoted to Five-O's second -in-Command would take more of his time away time away from his family. So, I doubt that that is the motive. But I do think that I may have a possible motive that may be worth checking out."

"What's that?" Ray asked as they turned and headed back towards the stairs that lead out of the cold damp bunker.

"Kelly's oldest daughter, Suzie, must be about eighteen years old now." Lou began to muse as they walked back towards the stairs that lead out of the damp bunker.

Ray nodded.

"Well, maybe something was going on between Williams and Kelly's kid, something Kelly wasn't happy about. After all, Williams's a young buck, and young bucks like to spread their oats, plus I heard that Williams has a bit of a playboy reputation with a different girl on his arm every week."

"Lou, you don't honestly think?" Ray looked at his partner in surprise as they walked up the stairs, "Oh, come on, Lou, I know how most cops joke about other cops dating their daughters, but that's all it usually is, a joke. And I am sure that every cop who has a daughter has at one time or another said the same thing, that no cop is ever going to date their daughter, even you… and this is Chin Ho Kelly we are talking about-"

"It might be Chin Ho Kelly whom we are talking about but think about it for a second, Ray, what we have here is a cop and not just any cop, but a well-seasoned Five-O detective who has been on the job for more than twenty years, who just shot his partner. An experienced cop, who, after the shooting, did not follow correct protocol. Instead of staying at the scene as Kelly knows he should, he ignored the first responding officers' requests that he remain on the scene, instead he insisted… no, not just insisted, the officers told me Kelly pulled rank on them and told them that he was riding in the back of the ambulance with the man he had just shot. Which leaves me asking myself, did Kelly break protocol because he was in shock and worried about Williams, or did he break it because he was worried that Williams might regain consciousness in the ambulance and tell someone that Kelly shot him? This could simply be, just like Kelly told the responding officers, just a tragic accident and Kelly did, in fact, accidentally shoot Williams believing that Williams was Edwards, and that Edwards was about to shoot him after killing Williams. Or maybe, this is something else entirely. Maybe, just maybe, Kelly saw it a means to an end. But whatever happened, it's our job to find out!" Stepping back into the bright sunshine, Lou looked at his partner. "So, let's start doing our job by finding out if there is something going on between Kelly's kid and Williams, something that Kelly decided to put a stop to, or if the Five-O detectives are really as close as everyone believes they are."

"So where do you want to start, Lou?"

"Let's start with Kelly at the hospital. I want to know just what happened between him and Williams down here this afternoon and why he ignored protocol and left the scene before we arrived."


	2. Chapter 2

Stepping out of the elevator, Kono Kalakaua looked around before he saw the anxious man who was pacing the corridor outside the operating room. Hurrying down the corridor, the Hawaiian detective called out softly, "Chin!"

Chin stopped pacing and turned as he saw Kono hurrying towards him. "Any word yet on the kaikaina?" Kono asked anxiously as he stared at the closed operating room doors.

Chin looked back at the closed doors and shock his head, "No, not yet."

"What happened, Bruddah?” Kono asked confused as he turned his attention back to his upset friend.

Looking back at Kono, Chin swallowed and nodded, he looked like he had aged twenty years in the last hour, his eyes were red, and his hands were trembling.

"I shot him, Kono," Chin swallowed hard and nodded as he looked down at his hands, he could still see the blood that he had scrubbed off them after they had arrived at the hospital - Danny's blood. "I shot Danny …"

"How?" The Hawaiian detective’s confusion grew, aware that the IA guys were not going to be happy that Chin had insisted on accompanying Danny to the hospital and had refused to wait for them at the scene as per protocol. He needed some answers from Chin to tell the boss when he picked McGarrett up at the airport when he arrived on the red eye flight from the mainland about what went down in the bunker and he needed the answers before the Internal Affairs guys got here if he was going to be able to help clear Chin’s name. He had no doubts that whatever had happened, the shooting had to have been an accident, there was no way Chin would ever deliberately hurt the kaikaina. But he also knew the IA guys believed that a cop was always guilty until proven innocent.

Chin swallowed hard again, hoping to stop his voice from cracking as he took a deep trembling breath and a quick guilt-laced glance towards the closed operating doors before he looked back at McGarrett, "While you were in court, Danny got a tip off that Edwards was staying in a one of the bunkers near Diamond Head. But when we got there, Edwards made a run for it and darted into the bunker, so we followed. They…um…they had quite a lead on me, Bruddah, and I…I lost sight of them in the bunker tunnel. I heard Danny yell out to Edwards to drop his weapon before I heard some sort of a fight that ended with two gunshots. The tunnel was dark, Kono, the only light was from those small overhead lights, it was hard to make much out.”

Kono nodded. He had explored some of the old ammo bunkers when he was younger and the small overhead lights that were maintained by the military, barely gave enough lit to see where you were going.

“When I finally reached Danny and Edwards, all I could see was a figure on the ground with another figure leaning over them with what looked like a gun in his hand." Chin's face paled as the memory of what happened next slammed over him. His voice trembled as he forced himself to go on, "I... I wasn't sure if it was Danny kneeling over Edwards’s body or Edwards kneeling above Danny's. All I knew was that whoever it was, that they had a gun in their hand. I yelled at the figure to drop the weapon but when Danny spun around with the gun still in his hand …" A choked sob tore from Chin's throat as he forced himself to relive the moment, he had shot the youngest member of their small Five-O ohana. "I…I really thought that it was Edwards, and…and that he had just killed Danny and now he was going to shoot me." Chin shook his head as the tears began to roll down his face, "That's…that's when I shot him. It wasn't…wasn't until… I went to check the body that I even realized it was Danny."

"Wait, Chin did you just say that the kaikaina didn't even try to let you know it was him or even lower his gun when you yelled out to him to drop his weapon?" Kono confusion grew.

"Or did you even give Williams a chance to let him know it was you?" Lou growled as the two IA officers joined them. “Or was it an opportunity to shoot Williams that you couldn’t let slip by?”

"Excuse me, gentlemen, but the corridor outside my operating theatre is not the place to have this … discussion." The four officers turned in surprise and stared at the surgeon who, still dressed in his blue operating scrubs and hat with his surgical mask dangling around his neck, stood in front of the operating room door, his arms crossed as he glared at the senior IA officer. "Might I suggest that you take this discussion somewhere more private, like back at the police station, perhaps."

"Sorry, Doc," Kono answered as he cast a quick, disgusted, sideward glance at Rodgers before he followed Chin across to where the surgeon was waiting as the two IA officers followed closely behind.

Reaching the surgeon, Chin asked, anxiously, "How is he, Doc?"

Reaching up and removing his blue surgical cap from his head, the surgeon continued to glare over Chin's shoulder at the lead IA officer for another second or two before he returned his attention back to Chin and Kono, "Detective Williams's condition is serious but stable. The bullet struck him in the upper right chest, breaking a rib and before lodging in the top lobe of his lung, causing his lung to deflate slightly. We were able to remove the bullet and repair the tear and the lung has already started to reflate on its own. He is also suffering from a moderate concussion-"

"Concussion?" Ray asked, frowning in confusion as he cast a quick glance at his partner before returning his full attention back to the surgeon, "Williams was shot in the chest, are you saying he was also hit on the head as well?"

The surgeon quickly shook his head, "No, he most likely hit the back of his head hard on the bunker's cement floor when he fell backwards after being shot. He was lucky that he didn't fracture his skull, but it did leave him with a moderate concussion which we will be monitoring closely over the next few hours in case there is any intracranial bleeding or swelling of his brain. But he is young and strong and barring any complications, I see no reason why he shouldn't make a full recovery."

"Thank God!" Chin murmured as he released a breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding.

"When can we speak with him?" Lou demanded as he deliberately stepped in front of Chin.

"Detective Williams is currently being prepared to be moved into the Recovery Room and he is in no condition to receive any visitors until at least tomorrow morning." The surgeon answered, leaving both Kono and Chin with the distinct impression that the surgeon had dealings with the senior IA officer in the past as the surgeon looked directly at Rodgers and added firmly, "As to when he will be up to answering any of your questions, we will just have to wait and see. Now, if you Gentlemen will excuse me, I have a patient to get back to."

"Thanks Doc," Chin said quietly as the surgeon nodded and turned and re-entered the operating room, allowing the door to swing closed behind him.

Swinging around to face Chin, the senior IA officer snarled coldly, "Well, it looks like you got lucky, Kelly, Williams is looking good to make a complete recovery but don't think you are going to get off with shooting him that easily. I expect to see your badge and gun as well as your full written report about the shooting on my desk in an hour. You're suspended, Kelly, until I have finished my investigation."

Turning on his heel, Rodgers began to walk away with his partner following closely behind. Taking just a couple of steps, he stopped and turned back around, locking Chin in a baleful glare as he added, ominously, "And just a little warning, Kelly, if you are thinking of paying Williams a visit, then if I were you, I would think twice about doing so. I can already charge you with police misconduct for leaving the scene of the shooting, and I still just might but if you try to go anywhere near Williams before I get to hear his side of the story to just what happened down in that bunker today, I will throw the book at you! And I won't just charge you with police misconduct, I will also throw the book at you for witness tampering, witness intimidation, obstruction of justice and whatever other charges I can think of!" Spinning back around, Lou Rodgers headed towards the elevator with his young partner close behind him, leaving the two, shocked Hawaii Five-O detectives watching his departure.

Stabbing the elevator button, Ray glanced at his partner as he asked, "What now?"

Resisting the urge to look back at Chin and Kono over his shoulder, Lou instead looked up and watched the light above the elevator doors light up with each floor the elevator passed as he softly ordered, "I want you to find out everything you can about both Kelly and Williams, I want to know just how close they really are and if there is any tension between them. Also find out if there is anything going on between Williams and Kelly's daughter and if there is, I want details!"

"Okay Lou, but what are you going to do?" Ray asked as the elevator doors opened, and they stepped inside, before he pressed the button to go down to the lobby.

Turning around, Rodgers stared at Chin as the elevator doors slid shut as he answered, "I am going to get the forensic report before I go through Kelly's report about the shooting with a fine-tooth comb and then I am going to go through his personal file, cover to cover!"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Knocking on the Governor’s door, Walter Stuart didn't wait for the Governor to call his permission to enter, he knew the man was expecting him as he pushed the door open and entered. "Chin Ho Kelly's report on the shooting. I thought you would like to read it," he told Jameson as he handed the other man the manila folder he was holding before sitting down in the chair placed in front of the desk as the Governor open the folder and peruse its contents.

Finishing his brief perusal of Chin's account, Jameson looked up at District Attorney and asked, "Any word on Danny Williams's condition yet?"

"He took a round to the chest, the bullet nicked his lung, and he also has a moderate concussion, probably caused when he hit his head when he fell. The doctor said the surgery went well and has listed him in serious condition. The doctor's confident that if there are no complications, he should make a full recovery."

"Thank God for that!" Jameson murmured before he looked back down at the report in front of him. "Who's handling the investigation?"

"Rodgers," Stuart sighed softly.

Jameson grimaced as he looked back up at Stuart, "He's tough, a bit of a bulldog with a bone when he gets his teeth into a case with absolutely no people skills at all, but if anyone can get to the bottom of this mess, he will."

The DA nodded. "I know. He's already suspended Chin until the investigation is over. I was hoping that he might have settled on keeping Chin on desk duty until McGarrett gets back later tonight from the mainland."

"Where's Chin now?" the Governor asked, closing the file before clasping his hands together and resting them on top of it.

"Rodgers sent him home." Stuart answered.

"How's he taking it?"

"The same way that you or I would take it if we shot a close friend, Sir, hard… maybe even harder. The Five-O guys are close."

"So, what just what the Hell happened down in that bunker, Walter?"

The District Attorney shook his head. "I honestly don't know, and I don't think even Chin really knows. All anyone really knows at the moment is Chin accidentally shot Danny, and I don't believe for even a second it wasn't an accident but how it happened," Walter shrugged. "Chin says in his report that he heard a struggle then two shots before he reached Danny and Edwards. We both know just how poorly lit the parts some of those old bunker tunnels are. Chin says that he saw a figure crouched over someone on the ground. It was too dark to make out who was who. But when he yelled at the figure to drop the gun, they turned, and Chin believed they were going to shoot.”

“He yelled out to the person to drop their gun? Are you sure?” Jameson frowned.

Stuart nodded, “I believe Chin when he says he called out for whoever he saw to drop the weapon but whether Danny for some reason didn't hear him or Chin didn't hear Danny identify himself …” he sighed and shrugged in frustration at the lack of answers to all his own questions about what happened in the bunker just a few short hours ago. “Or maybe, I'm completely wrong and Chin is lying …. I guess we won't know until Danny is conscious and able to tell us what happened."

"If he remembers…" Jameson interrupted softly.

The DA swallowed hard and nodded, only too acutely aware that often one of the common side effects of a concussion was memory loss of the minutes or even hours leading up to the injury, as he parroted, "If he remembers…"

"Let's hope for Chin's sake that he does," the Governor sighed as he looked back down at the file and opened it again, re-reading Chin's account of what happened before he looked back up at Walter and asked, "Has there been any tension between Chin and Danny, lately? Anything that I might need to know about?"

Stuart shook his head, "No, Sir, nothing that I know about. Their case load has been heavy the last few weeks since Steve’s been on the mainland, but they seemed to be coping.”

"Good, good, Rodgers is thorough, and I don't want him discovering anything going on between the two of them that might be misconstrued as motive or that we didn't know about," the Governor nodded as he reclosed the folder and handed the report back to Stuart before he added, "Listen Walter, I want you to try and keep on top of this investigation. If there's anything that you think I should know…"

Stuart nodded as he accepted back the folder and rose from the chair. "I'll keep you updated, Sir," he promised as he turned and headed towards the door.

Nodding his thanks, the Governor watched as the District Attorney left his office and closed the door firmly behind him. Rising from his chair, he turned and walked across to the window before staring out across the dark gardens below and sighed. _'What a goddamn mess!'_


	3. Chapter 3

Closing the oven door, Mai smiled as she pulled the oven gloves from her hands and dropped them onto the countertop before she looked around the small kitchen. The table was cleared, the washing up done, the tea pot scrubbed, and Chin’s favorite dessert of mango bread was baking in the oven, filling the house with its mouth-watering aroma.

Satisfied that she had done everything she needed to, she removed her apron and smoothed down her dress. Chin and the kids would not be home for a couple more hours, which gave her enough time to finish tidying up the rest of the house. She stopped in the doorway and looked with a critical eye around the small living room. The books and pop magazines that had been scattered around the room earlier were now all in two neat piles next to Chin’s small pouch of tobacco and his favorite pipe that he had forgotten to place in his coat pocket on the small coffee table in front of the sofa. And the toys that had been left where they had been played with were now back in their respective toyboxes in the bedrooms.

She laughed softly to herself as she pulled the dusting cloth that she had earlier tucked into the pocket of her dress free and walked across to where the framed family photos sat on the bookshelf. Picking it up, she wiped the dust from the frame and carefully cleaned the glass before wiping the shelf beneath it and gently placing it back down. Picking up the next photo, she stopped and studied it. It was a photo Chin had taken at Waikiki beach a few weeks ago when Danny had tried to teach Suzie and Tim to surf after they had begged him to teach them.

She chuckled as she stared at the photo of a grinning Suzie and a very tired and patient Danny Williams as they emerged from the water, after Danny not only rescued the wayward surfboard for the umpteenth time in the morning but was also allowing himself to be talked into allowing Suzie to have just one more attempt. Danny’s efforts to try and teach Suzie how to surf had not been too successful, she seemed to have spent more time falling into the water after trying to balance on the surfboard then actually standing up on the board. Chin had taken the photo after one of her numerous ‘wipe-outs’ as Tim called her falls.

Mai shook her head at the memory, Tim had picked up the finer points of surfing fast but Suzie… lets just say would never ride the waves as good as her brother or the very patient detective and very experienced surfer who had attempted to teach her

Wiping the glass of the frame carefully, her smile grew, in the last two years since Danny had joined Five-O, the small group of detectives had become so much more than Chin’s friends and colleagues, they had become an important part of the Kelly ohana.

Wiping the shelf, she gently placed the photo back into its place before spinning around in surprise as she heard the distinct sound of the key turning in the lock of the front door a heartbeat before it opened, and Chin stepped inside.

"Chin?" she smiled as she headed across the room towards him, but her smile faded when he did not answer. “Chin, is everything okay?" she asked hesitantly as she reached him. He seemed to have aged twenty years since he had left for work this morning. "Chin?" she asked almost timidly, her heart thumping in her chest with fear as he slowly looked up at her with a haunted look in his eyes. She paused a moment as she felt a cold chill ripple through her soul as she remembered seeing the same haunted look on her father's face when her mother had died. Swallowing hard, she forced herself to ask the question she wasn't sure she wanted to hear an answer to as she whispered, "Chin, please tell me, what's wrong?”

Looking down at Mai's frightened face, Chin was unable to stop the tears from falling as he whispered, broken-heartedly, "I shot him, Mai. Oh God, Mai, I…I shot Danny!"

Grabbing Chin's arm, she gently guided him into the kitchen and made him sit down at the table, fearful that if he didn't sit down that he would collapse in front of her. She hurriedly made them both a cup of tea, placing Chin's cup in front of him before she turned and picked up hers and sat down. Biting her lip, she watched Chin stare into the cup of tea that he held in his trembling hands, lost in his thoughts. She waited for several minutes for Chin to tell her what had happened but when the silence became overwhelming, she asked softly, "Chin?" Blinking when he heard Mai softly call his name, Chin slowly looked up into her worried face as she frowned in confusion, "I don't understand, what do you mean that you shot Danny? Is he okay? What happened?"

Holding the cup a little tighter in an attempt to draw some of its warmth into his cold body, Chin shook his head and looked back down, unable to look her in the eyes as he murmured. "I…I shot him, Mai. It…it was an accident."

"I don't understand, Chin, how did it happen? Where's Danny, now? Is he alright?" Mai begged when Chin fell silent again. "Please Chin, tell me what happened."

Staring into his tea, Chin took a deep breath as he forced himself to look back up at Mai, his pain, and guilt evident in his face as he swallowed hard, trying to force down the lump in his throat that threatened to choke him before he managed to whisper, "It was an accident, we were chasing a suspect in one of the old ammo bunkers on Diamond Head. Danny… Danny was ahead of me. It was dark, hard to see. I…I heard Danny yell out for the suspect to drop his gun but before I could get there to cover him, I heard what sounded like some sort of a fight and two gunshots. By… by the time I got there, I saw someone on the ground with a figure holding a gun leaning over them." Chin paused and shook his head guiltily as he was transported back to the bunker in his mind, watching the scene all over again as he continued haltingly, "I …I thought that it was the suspect. I…I thought he had shot Danny." Looking across at Mai, his eyes pleading for understanding and forgiveness, his voice trembled as he continued, "I…I yelled at him to drop the gun," Chin paused, suddenly doubting himself as he murmured, "At least I think I did, maybe I didn't… maybe that's why Danny didn't lower his gun when he turned towards me… "

"But you thought it was the suspect and he was about to shoot you?" Mai whispered, in sudden understanding.

Chin nodded as his eyes dropped back down to stare at the black tea, "But it wasn't, it was Danny."

"And when he didn't drop his gun, you shot him?" Mai murmured.

Chin nodded silently, unable to speak as he remembered realizing what he had done and holding Danny in his arms.

"Ohh, Chin." Mai breathed before she asked the question that she was dreading the answer to, "How…" She licked her dry lips as she tried again, "Is Danny…?'

"He… he was hit in the chest." Chin answered softly.

"How...how bad?"

"It's serious, the bullet nicked his lung. The doc said he also suffered a concussion after he hit the back of his head when he went down."

"But he's going to be okay, isn't he?"

"The doc thinks that he will make a full recovery but…" Chin shook his head, "but it's my fault…"

Mai rose from her chair and hurried around the table and hugged Chin from behind, her head resting on his as he looked back down into his cup of tea, his body shaking as tears trickled down his face. Hugging Chin tighter, Mai tried hard to reassure him, "It sounds like it was just an accident, Chin, and when Danny wakes up, I know he will tell you the same thing … it was an accident. Just you wait and see!"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Closing Danny's personal file, Lou placed it on top of Chin's file before he sat back in Chin's chair and looked around the cubicle. Fong had not finished going over all the forensic evidence found at scene and had promised to send him the forensic report as soon as he had completed it. His eyes travelled over the filing cabinet and the coat rack that sat in the corner before he glanced out of the cubicle window out into the anteroom. He sat there for a few minutes watching the secretary and several uniformed guys as they went about their duties, ignoring their covert, suspicious glances in his direction. He knew that being a cop investigating other cops would never win him any popularity contests but frankly he just didn't care. He had a job to do, and that was to weed out the bad apples, especially bad apples who decided they could shoot other good cops like Kelly had done this earlier this afternoon. And if some cops didn't like him because of it, that was their problem, not his.

Looking back down at Chin's desk, he picked up a framed photo of his large family that sat pride of place on his desk. His eyes travelled over Kelly and his wife and their eight children. Returning his attention back the oldest girl in the photo. He shook his head as he admitted quietly to himself that she was quite pretty, the type of pretty that tended to turn young men’s heads. She had to be Suzie. 

Hmmm, he decided, maybe his theory about Williams and Kelly's daughter was worth delving a lot more into, after all, Kelly was a father of a large brood and was probably quite protective of them all. Maybe just a little too protective when it came to his daughters, especially if he found out that the oldest one was dating Five-O’s own resident playboy.

Placing the frame back down on the desk, he leaned down and opened the desk's top drawer, quickly rummaging through the drawer's contents of pens, pencils, spare writing pads, typewriter ink rolls, staples and a stapler. Finding nothing that caught his interest, he pushed it closed and opened the next drawer before searching it. Glancing up as he heard the cubicle door open, he watched as his partner entered and closed the door behind him before Ray walked across to the chair in front of the desk. "Any luck?" he asked as Ray flopped heavily down on the chair.

"Na, they are all circling the wagons," Ray sighed tiredly as his partner closed the drawer before trying to open the bottom one, only to discover it was locked. "According to everyone who has worked with Five-O, Kelly and Williams work well together. In fact, they claim that since Williams joined the Five-O unit the Five-O guys have become much closer than they used to be, that they and their families, including McGarrett who used to keep his men at arm's length, have become more than just friends, they have become ohana." Ray continued as Lou reached into his pocket and withdrew his pocketknife before squeezing the button that released the small thin blade. "In fact, Kalakaua claims that Williams is the glue that holds them all together. He makes sure that birthdays and anniversaries are never forgotten and that they all get together to celebrate all the holidays.”

"What about Williams and Kelly's daughter? Anything going on between the two of them?" Lou asked as he carefully inserted the blade into the small cap between the drawer that the desk and jiggled the lock a little until it released. Casting a quick grin of triumph up at his partner, he pulled the drawer open.

"Nothing that anyone seem to know about," Ray answered as he watched Lou remove several files and letters from the drawer and place them on the desk before he started to peruse through them. "I got the general impression that Kelly welcomed Williams into his family and Williams tends to treat Kelly's daughter more like a little sister than a love interest. They all agreed that while Kelly's daughter is quite attractive and the two of them are close, romantically she is definitely not Williams's type. She’s too young for him, there's almost a ten-year age gap between them, and he prefers to date women closer to his age. Besides that, as Kalakaua was quick to point out when I asked him about the possibility of something going on between the two of them, Williams knows Kelly's rule about any of his daughters ever being allowed to date cops and there's no way that Williams would ever break that."

"So, it sounds like Kelly is quite adamant about his 'no cops dating his daughters' rule."

"Yeah, it does. And you're right, might be worth looking a little more deeper into." Ray agreed as Lou picked up the files and the letters, finding no damning evidence in them, and dropped them back into the drawer before kicking the drawer closed with his foot. Nodding towards the stack of closed case files and two personal files laying on the desk in front of his partner, he asked. "Anything interesting in those?"

"Nothing much, Kelly's been a cop for over twenty years, started at the bottom, walking a beat, and worked himself up the ladder before he was promoted to Five-O. He’s got himself a few commendations along the way. I still have to check out his finances. He's been with Hawaii Five-O since the Governor set up the unit ten years ago. In fact, he was both the Governor’s and McGarrett’s first choice to join the team after McGarrett was put in charge of the unit when it was formed. And I just want to say that I was right, by the way!”

“Right about what?” Ray frowned.

“About Kelly and him not being promoted to Five-O’s Second-In-Command. I spoke to Duke Lukela, he liaises between HPD and Five-O and he also works the most with all the members of the Five-O team. He confirmed that Kelly has turned down the promotion to be McGarrett’s Second-In-Command when McGarrett offered it to him several times over the years. Lukela claims that Kelly was pleased when McGarrett promoted Williams to Second-In-Command and that Kelly was the one who initially suggested the idea of promoting Williams to Second-In-Command to McGarrett. He said Kelly thought it was an excellent choice. And it seems it was - McGarrett and Williams make a great team. And I’m sure you’ve heard the coconut wireless about how close Williams and McGarrett are. McGarrett considers Williams as more than just his partner or a friend, he treats him like his kaikaina-“ Seeing the confused look on his young recently transferred mainland partner, he quickly translated, “ Little brother… And he expects anyone working with Williams to keep him safe. A job both Kelly and Kalakaua seem to take seriously.”

"And Williams?"

"He's one of those new fandangle university cops. Studied to be a lawyer for a year at Hawaii University before transferring across to the mainland where he attended Berkeley and changed across to study police science. He graduated top of his class before returning to Honolulu and joining HPD. McGarrett grabbed him as his partner as soon as Williams finished his twelve months as a rookie in HPD, not surprising though, McGarrett saw his potential. Williams's going to go as far as he wants with the right guidance and training and we both know under McGarrett’s watchful eye, he will get both."

Ray raised an eyebrow in surprise as he murmured, "Impressive!"

Lou nodded, "From the files that I have checked, it looks like McGarrett has just started letting Williams take the lead in some of their investigations and Kelly and Kalakaua seem happy to take their orders off the younger man.”

"But?" Ray looked across at his partner as Lou stared down at the closed folders.

"I don't know, we both know that things aren't always what they appear." Looking out of the cubicle, Lou murmured softly to his partner, "My gut keeps telling me that this is not the accidental shooting as Kelly wants us believe it was. I think that there's something going on here between Kelly and Williams that we and maybe not even McGarrett or Kalakaua are privy to yet and I want to know what it is, and if it's the reason why Williams is lying in a hospital bed after Kelly put a round into his chest!"


	4. Chapter 4

Looking up from the bloodied piece of cloth he was examining as he heard the lab door open, Che nodded towards the slim manila folder sitting on the bench. "Talk about timing," he smiled at the Five-O detective as Kono joined him, "I just finished my report on the bunker shooting and was just about to send it upstairs to Rodgers. I heard on the coconut wireless that Danny's condition is serious but he's going to be okay."

Kono nodded. "That's what the doc said."

"How's Chin taking it?"

"Hard, Bruddah," Kono answered succinctly, changing the subject as he eyed the report. "Anything in it that I should tell Steve when I pick him up at the airport tonight before he talks to the IA guys."

Shaking his head, Che picked up two spent and crushed bullets in an evidence bag, handing them to the homicide captain to examine as he answered, "I found two spent bullets near the stairs that, although both were badly damaged from ricocheting off the cement walls, I was able to determine were fired from Edwards's gun."

Kono stared at the two bullets in the small clear plastic evidence bags before handing them back to the small forensic scientist who placed them on the bench before picking up two more small evidence bags. "These two were fired from Danny's gun, probably accidentally discharged while they fought for control over Danny's gun in the tunnel." Handing Kono one of the small evidence bag that contained a damaged bullet, Che explained, "This is the bullet that was lodged in the tunnel ceiling," Handing Kono the fourth bagged bullet, Che continued, "and this is the bullet that killed Edwards and lodged in the wall behind where he fell."

"But Chin said that Edwards only fired twice at them," Kono frowned as he slowly placed the two bullets down next to the first two before looking at the forensic scientist in confusion, "I don't get it, Bruddah, if Edwards only fired twice, he would have had bullets left when Danny caught up with him. So, why didn't he shoot, why did he go for Danny's gun instead?"

"I've got the answer for that as well." Che announced as he picked up the tagged and bagged, short nosed .38 calibre gun and held it up as he began to explain. "His gun jammed when one of the bullets got caught in the chamber. I'm amazed that it didn't explode in his hand when he tried to fire it."

"Chin said he heard Danny call for Edwards to drop his weapon shortly before he heard what sounded like the sounds of a struggle," Kono mused softly as he accepted the bagged gun and turned it over in his hand, studying it.

Che nodded, "We found some shoe scuff marks on the newly laid cement floor, which indicated there was some sort of a scuffle, probably when Edwards went for the gun."

"And the two shots Chin said he heard was when the gun went off during the struggle…"

"The first shot went into the ceiling…"

"And the second shot went through Edwards's chest and into the wall behind." Kono concluded as Che nodded his agreement. Kono placed the gun back down on the bench. "Which fits with everything that Chin told me happened before he shot Danny, but it doesn't help us with what happened after Edwards was shot."

"I have my own theory that might explain why Danny never answered Chin,” Che announced softly as he gathered the evidence together and placed it on top of his report. "But it's just my own theory, so it's not in the report."

"What is it, Bruddah?" Kono asked, trying to keep the desperation he felt from seeping into his voice.

"We know that Edwards and Danny fought over the gun, and that Danny's gun discharged twice, the first time into the ceiling and the second time the bullet went through Edwards's chest, killing him instantly." Che began as Kono nodded his agreement of the scenario of what had happened so far. "And we both know how loud gunshot is with no ear protection and in such an enclosed space…"

Kono nodded.

"And if Danny and Edwards were fighting over possession of the gun, the likelihood is the gun was discharged at least once-"

"Close to Danny's ear. A gunshot that close to his ears must have been deafening. So, Danny might not have heard Chin call out," Kono breathed, warming to Che's theory. "Thanks, Bruddah!” he smiled as he turned and headed towards the door, deciding his next stop would be the coroner’s office to ask Doc about the possibility that Che’s theory could be the reason why the kaikaina didn’t lower his gun or try and identify himself when Chin called out.

"I just hope that you can prove it, Bruddah," Che sighed as he watched the Hawaiian detective walk out of the lab before he murmured softly to himself, "because I also heard on the coconut wireless that Rodgers is gunning for Chin and already has him dead to rights in his sights."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Nodding at his assistant to finish sewing up the young murder victim whom he had just finished autopsying, Bergman turned, removing his paper mask before tugging the latex gloves off and dropping them into the small bin as his brow creased into a frown. "So, you want to know if it's possible that the gun fired so close to Danny's head could have temporarily deafened him? And if there is any way to prove it, if Danny is unable to remember what happened today?"

Kono nodded as he followed the coroner across to the small desk set up in the corner of the room and watched as Bergman jotted down the last of his notes about the autopsy he had just performed.

Scribbling his signature at the bottom of the report, Bergman closed the file before he turned back to the Hawaiian Five-O detective and leaned back against his desk, folding his arms across his chest. "It's possible, Kono," he began. "In fact, I would say that it's highly likely that a gun discharging that close to Danny's head, in a tunnel that is certain to magnify the sound, could and would cause some degree of deafness, at least temporarily, if not permanently. But the problem is just how severe the hearing loss Danny suffered at the time of the shooting is harder to determine. The hearing loss he might have experienced could have ranged from just ringing in the ears that might have distorted sounds to full hearing loss- all of which could have just been temporary or could even be permanent. There's no way of telling just if there was any damage done or just how severe the damage might be until, and if, the doctors check his hearing."

"So, it is possible that when Chin called out for Danny to drop his gun, Danny might not have heard him?" Kono insisted, desperate to get a definitive answer.

"Yes, it's possible." Bergman answered slowly, "But if you want me to say that that's what happened, I'm sorry but I can't. I can speculate that's what happened, I can even honestly say that I believe it's what most likely happened, but I'm afraid that only Danny can answer that question. And I'm afraid that after suffering a concussion, although Danny might eventually remember most of what happened, there is a chance that he won't remember all of it or his memory of what happened may be patchy. Which, I guess brings me to your second question of if there is any physical way to prove that Danny was rendered temporarily deaf by the gun fire?"

"And?"

"Again, I'm afraid that really depends on how much damage was done when the two shots were fired close to his head." The coroner answered slowly as he looked down at the floor as he contemplated the answer to Kono's question before looking back up at Kono again. "It's possible that the gunshots discharged so close to Danny's ear may have ruptured his eardrum or the shock wave from the passing bullet could have damaged the small bones in his ear. If his eardrum was ruptured or the bones are damaged, then there's your proof."

"But wouldn't the doctors have noticed a ruptured eardrum when he was being was examined in the ER?" Kono asked cautiously.

"Not necessarily, Danny suffered a concussion and was being assessed and prepared for surgery for a gunshot wound to the chest. It's quite possible that any blood in the ear canal could have been dismissed as blood in the ear canal caused by the head injury or even missed altogether." Unfolding his arms and standing straighter as he noticed the two IA officers enter the Autopsy room, Bergman murmured, "If you want to find out if there's any physical evidence to back up your theory that Danny didn't hear Chin yell to drop his gun, I’ll call an ENT specialist I know to examine him."

"Thanks Doc." Kono murmured as he watched Rodgers and Vernon skirt around the autopsy table as the two IA officers headed towards them.

"Anytime, and good luck. With these two on the case, Chin is going to need all the help he can get to clear himself, even if Danny does remember and can confirm what happened was an accident." Bergman breathed softly as he turned and picked up the file on his desk before handing it to Kono as he said loud enough for the two IA officers to overhear. "Here's my findings on the autopsy on Brian Hellmouth that McGarrett wanted on his desk when he gets back. Cause of death was blunt force trauma; the kid took one hell of a beating but not before he got high. He had enough amphetamines in his system to have killed him ten times over, the kid was really flying high when he was killed."

"Thanks Doc, I'll see that he gets it," Kono smiled as he accepted the file before he turned to leave as the two IA officers reached them.

Bergman nodded as he turned his attention to Rodgers and his partner and asked, "Can I help you two gentlemen?"

"We're just after the Edwards' autopsy results," Rodgers answered distractedly as he watched Kono hurry out of the room before he turned back to Bergman and added, "I was just thinking, after seeing you chatting with Kalakuau just now, that you probably have gotten to know the guys in Five-O well."

"Well enough," Bergman answered suspiciously.

Rodgers nodded as he cast a quick glance at his partner before he asked, "So, what can you tell me about Kelly and Williams? Did you ever notice any tension between the two of them?”


	5. Chapter 5

"Kono!"

Kono looked up, relieved that Duke was willing to help him until he picked the boss up later in the evening, as Duke Lukela entered his small cubicle. Returning his attention back to phone he held against his ear, he frowned as he listened to the other person on the line before he answered, "Thanks Doc, I'm on my way."

Hanging up the phone, he looked across at Duke as he quickly rose to his feet, “That was the hospital, Bruddah, Danny's out of recovery and in his room. The doc isn't sure just how coherent he's going to be but I’m gunna try and ask him a couple of questions."

"So soon? Is that a good idea?" Duke frowned as he hurried to catch up with the Hawaiian detective as he followed Kono out of the Five-O offices and down the ornate Koa stairs, "He's just got out of surgery, Kono, he's going to be still fairly groggy from the anesthetic. I mean wouldn't it be better to talk to Chin first about what happened and give Danny some time to wake really wake up?"

Kono sighed as they crossed the foyer and stepped out into the fading afternoon light, "I wish we could, but the doc says that Rodgers just phoned and is insisting on interviewing Danny tonight while the shooting is still fresh in the kaikaina's mind and he isn't taking no for an answer. The doc's trying to stall him for as long as he can…"

"Damn! The man is a damn shark!" Duke growled as they ran down the cement stairs and headed across to Kono’s Five-O LTD. "You know, Kono, I've seen IA investigations into accidental cop shootings before but this one seems different." Duke said quietly as he opened the passenger door and slid into the passenger seat.

"Different, how?" Kono frowned, glancing Duke as he turned the key and started the car before heading towards the palace gate entrance.

"I don't know, just some of the comments the guys told me that Rodgers made at the scene, and the way he seems to be digging for a motive, any sort of motive for the shooting, it's almost as if he has made up his mind already," Duke shrugged as he thought about the interview about Danny and Chin and their relationship, not only as Five-O colleagues but also as friends, that he had had earlier in the day with Rodgers as Kono slowed the car as they reached the road beyond the palace gates and waited until he saw a break in the traffic before pulling out of the palace grounds and heading in the direction of Queens Hospital. "I just can't shake the feeling that Rodgers has drawn a target on Chin's back for some reason and I can't help feeling that no matter what the investigation uncovers, he's going to try and take Chin down. I don't know if it's something personal or if there's even history between the two of them," Duke paused before he added, "Call it a gut feeling, Bruddah, but I think Chin’s going to need us to cover his back when it comes to Rodgers and this investigation."

Kono nodded his agreement, silently relieved that he was not the only one who had the same sour taste in his mouth regarding Rodgers' IA investigation so far into Danny's shooting.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Looking up from the patient's chart into which he was jotting his latest orders, the surgeon saw Kono and a uniformed HPD officer entered the ward and walked down the corridor towards him. Quickly placing the file back down on the nurse's desk, he hurried across to join them. “You can have five minutes.” The doctor told Kono softly as he turned and led them down the corridor towards his patient's room.

“Mahalo, Doc.” Kono nodded in agreement.

"I'm afraid I'm not sure just how coherent he is going to be. He is still coming out of the anaesthesia," the surgeon warned them quietly as he led them into Danny's room and stopped at the doorway allowing them to enter before he followed them inside.

Kono's and Duke's heart sunk at the sight of their young friend. Even though the room was brightly lit by the late afternoon sun streaming through the window, Danny's complexion looked grey, two bags of IV fluids hung above the bed, their tubing snaked down below them before being connected to a piggybacked bung that was partially hidden beneath the dressing that was taped to the back of Danny's left hand. Danny's face was partially obscured by an oxygen mask that covered his mouth and nose and a pristine white dressing on the right side of Danny's chest peeked out from beneath the white sheet that covered him. Sitting on the table beside the bed, a heart monitor softly beeped as the green dot danced across the screen.

Patting the two officers on the back, the doctor ordered softly, "Remember just five minutes, guys, not a minute longer, he needs to rest."

Kono turned and nodded, "Five minutes, got it, Doc," before he turned back and walked across to the bed with Duke following closely behind. Looking down at his friend, he hesitated a moment as his hand hovered above his injured friend's shoulder, momentarily uncertain if this was a good idea or even if he should even wake Danny up.

He knew that if he wanted to talk to Danny before Rodgers did, this would probably be their only chance to find out just what Danny remembered about what happened in the bunker. He was certain that once Rodger's was given the all-clear to interview Danny, the kaikaina would be off limits to all his colleagues and friends, even McGarrett, until Rodgers was satisfied that he had gotten the answers he was searching for from the young man. Gently grabbing Danny's shoulder, Kono gave it a gentle but firm shake as he called softly, "Danny? … Danny, can you hear me?"

Soft voices and the distinct sound of the something beeping close to his aching head greeted Danny as he struggled to emerge from the heavy fogginess that seemed to fill his head. His head and chest ached but he didn't have the strength or even the desire to wonder why. He felt someone shake his shoulder as a familiar voice called his name. He tried to decide if he should open his eyes yet or just ignore whoever it was trying to wake him and just drift back to sleep.

"Danny? … Danny, can you hear me?" Kono lightly shook Danny's bare shoulder again, "Come on, Bruddah, I need you to wake up. I need to talk to you.” A soft groan of protest finally answered his gentle behest, a moment before Danny's eyelids flickered and slowly fluttered open, revealing the blue eyes beneath. He lightly squeezed the cool shoulder beneath his hand and smiled, "Hi, kaikaina."

Danny blinked and licked his dry lips before he slowly looked around the room in confusion, "W…where?" he croaked, breathlessly, his voice muffled by the oxygen mask as he looked back at the one of the two figures standing beside the bed.

"You're in Queens Hospital, Danny.” Duke softly told the injured and confused young man, “You were shot in the chest while making an arrest. The doc removed the bullet and he said you're looking good for a full recovery."

It took Danny several seconds to comprehend through the murkiness of his mind just what Duke had just told. He closed his eyes tight in an attempt to stop the nauseating feeling of the room spinning wildly around him and swallowed hard as he tasted the sour taste of bile as it rose in his throat. He frowned; something was wrong…something wasn't quite right. It took him another couple of heartbeats before he slowly realized that it was Kono and Duke with him… not… Steve… he shook his head… No, Steve was on the mainland, Chin had been with…"Chin?!"

Duke caught Danny's shoulders, preventing the younger man from sitting up in the bed in his panic, "Hey, easy Bruddah, the doc will kill us if you undo all his hard work," Duke murmured softly as he pushed his breathless, young friend firmly back against the pillows, "Chin's fine, Danny, he wasn't wounded."

"Chin's … okay?" Danny swallowed hard, closing his eyes as he relaxed against the pillows, his head was throbbing and the attempt to sit up had caused increased the giddying sensation of the room spinning wildly around him.

Reaching across, Kono lightly placed his hand lightly on his friend's cool arm and gave it a gentle squeeze as he smiled, unsurprised that Danny would be more worried about Chin than himself, "Yeah, Danno,” Kono forced a weak smile, using McGarrett’s nickname for his friend as he tried to reassure his friend, “Chin's okay and Steve’s on his way back from the mainland."

Danny nodded slowly, waiting until the nauseating sensation of the spinning room had eased a little before he opened his eyes again and turned his head in Kono's direction, trying to peer at the darker shape of his lieutenant in the dark room in which he had awoken as he frowned and asked, "Kono, why is it so dark?"

Kono traded confused looks with Duke who seemed just as perplexed as he was of Danny's question as he was. Looking back down at Danny, he asked, "Dark? What do you mean, Danny?"

Danny swallowed hard, instantly regretting moving his head as the hot bile rose again in his throat, before he mumbled, "Why are all the lights turned off?"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"I just don't get it, Bruddah!" Leaning against the wall, staring at the empty hospital room, Duke jumped as Kono slammed the wall with his fist. The fear and confusion in the Hawaiian detective's voice mirrored the same emotions Duke was experiencing as he willed the doctor to return and reassure them that Danny was going to be okay, that the blindness was just some weird reaction or maybe a strange, uncommon side effect that Danny had suffered from the anaesthesia. "He was shot in the chest! They said he was going to be fine! How does a gunshot wound to the chest end up with him being blind?" Kono muttered as he stared at the empty room.

"He hit his head when he fell after being shot." Duke reminded the upset detective as he turned his head to look at Kono and added, "You told me that he hit it hard enough to knock him out at the scene and give him a concussion-"

"The latest x-rays we just took showed that the hit to the back of his head was not only hard enough to cause a concussion but also hard enough to cause a large contusion to the back of his brain."

Both men jumped and spun around as the surgeon joined them outside of Danny's empty room.

"Does that mean that he's bleeding into his brain?" Kono asked the surgeon anxiously as his face lost its color and he traded a worried look with Duke, before returning his attention back to the surgeon.

The doctor quickly shook his head, "No, no, when he fell backwards and hit his head on the ground, it severely bruised the occipital lobe that's located at the back of his brain." Seeing Kono and Duke frown in confusion as they tried to follow what he was telling them, the surgeon explained, "The occipital lobe is located here," he explained, touching the back of Kono's head, "and it's the area in the brain that is responsible for making sense of what our eyes see. When Detective Williams fell backwards and hit the back of his head on the ground, it bruised that part of his brain that is responsible for seeing and has caused it to swell and as a result, he is currently unable to see."

"But when the bruise goes away, he will be able to see, won't he? I mean, his not being able to see is just because of the bruising, isn't it, Doc? He's not really… blind…," Kono swallowed hard before he forced himself to ask the question both he and Duke were dreading the answer to, "is he?"

Looking at the two anxious men, the surgeon sighed, "I'm afraid that at the moment, we don't know just how seriously his occipital lobe has been damaged until the swelling goes down and the bruise heals. Best scenario is that the area is just bruised, and his sight will return in the next few days as the bruising and swelling improves, but we must also prepare for the worst-case scenario of…"

"That his blindness is permanent." Duke finished for the surgeon.

"I'm afraid so," the surgeon nodded.

Kono nodded woodenly as he pushed away the sickening thoughts of how not only Danny, but also Chin, and Steve, would deal with the worst-case scenario of Danny being permanently blind.

"We have transferred him to the ICU where we can monitor his condition more closely. He's awake, but he's a little agitated and confused because of the head injury and not being able to see, and understandably, he's also very scared. He's asking for McGarrett…"

Lifting his hand to run his hand over his face, aware that Danny's request to see McGarrett was going to have to be denied until he was well enough to be questioned by the IA guys first, Kono took a deep breath to try and stop his voice from trembling before he asked, "Can...can we see him?"

The surgeon nodded, "Of course, but any questions that you wanted to ask him about what led up to his shooting will now have to wait until he is out of the ICU."

"No questioning, Doc, we promise." Kono readily agreed, unable to keep the slight tremor out of his voice as he followed the surgeon across to the elevator with Duke following close behind.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Pushing the forensic report that he had been reading away from him, Ray leaned back in his chair and sighed. The forensic report backed up what Kelly had written in his statement. Edwards had fired two shots after they had entered the bunker before Williams had chased him into the tunnel. Forensics had also confirmed, just as Kelly had claimed, there had been some sort of a struggle when Williams had caught up with the suspect. Edwards's disabled weapon was found on the ground close to where the suspect had gone down, and Edwards's fingerprints were found on the barrel and the handle of Williams's weapon. Forensics had also retrieved a bullet from the tunnel ceiling, as well as the fatal bullet that had lodged in the tunnel wall after passing through Edward's body, all indicative that they had fought for Williams's gun. A fight which Edwards had lost.

Unsurprisingly, Fong also confirmed that the bullet that the doctors had dug out of Williams's chest had been fired from Kelly's gun. A fact that was not in dispute, not even by Kelly, but what forensics could not explain was the reason why Kelly had fired his weapon in a tunnel, that even he had admitted, had been poorly lit making it difficult to see who he was shooting at.

Picking up Kelly's statement, Ray perused it again. Kelly had stated that the lighting in the tunnel was poor and he had saw the light reflect off a weapon in the hand of the figure crouched over a second figure on the ground. He had yelled at the figure to drop the gun and had fired when the figure had stood up and swung the weapon towards him.

Dropping Kelly's statement back down on his desk, the junior IA officer picked up a pen and began to tap it on the wooden surface as he thought about the questions that were running through his head. If Kelly had called out for the 'suspect' to drop his gun as he had claimed he had, then why hadn't Williams identified himself to his partner? So why had Williams, as Kelly claimed, swung around towards him with the gun in his hand?

The pen drummed a little faster against the desktop as he looked up and stared at the wall behind the desk. Had Williams been trying to defend himself or had he not heard Kelly’s warning to drop the gun or decided to ignore it for some unknown reason? Or was Lou right, was there something that had happened between the two men that had led up to the shooting?

He bit the inside of his cheek as he found himself dismissing Lou's theory. The interviews he had held with Kalakuau and the HPD officers who worked closely with the Five-O team had only convinced him that Kelly and Williams worked well together and like the others in the Five-O team, were also close friends. Hell, even Bergman had commented how close the two of them were. And as for Lou's other theory about Williams and Kelly's daughter, well, so far there was nothing at all to support anything else but them being friends.

He jumped in surprise as the door to the door to the IA office behind him opened with a crush and he spun around as his partner snapped, "Come on, grab your coat, we have to get going."

"What's going on?" Ray asked as he jumped up, snagging his coat that was hanging on the back of his chair before he turned and ran to catch up with his partner as Lou disappeared back out of the door.

"Just got a call from the hospital. Williams's taken an unexpected turn for the worse. His head injury has turned out to be much more serious than the doctors first thought. His brain is swelling…" Lou growled over his shoulder, heading towards the elevator as his partner caught up with him, "he's been transferred to the ICU."

"So, are we going to the hospital?" Ray frowned, uncertain of how just they were going to be able to question Williams, that's if the doctors even allowed them to, as they reached the elevator.

"No, we're going to Kelly's place. We're going to bring Kelly and his kid in for questioning?" Lou growled over his shoulder as he stabbed the button to summon the elevator to their floor.

"Now?" Ray asked, frowned in confusion, aware that normally Lou liked to allow the cop they were investigating to stew for a while, while they gathered enough evidence to make the guilty cop sweat when brought in for questioning. And so far, all the evidence they had gathered confirmed that Kelly was telling the truth of what had happened leading up to the shooting, that he claimed was accidental. So, unless Williams recovered enough to tell them what happened, all they had so far were a lot of unanswered questions and suspicions and no evidence yet to prove that the shooting was anything else but what Kelly claimed. Looking at his partner, he could not help but wonder if maybe there's was something more between Lou and Kelly that he didn't know about than just an IA investigation of a possible accidental shooting of a fellow officer. Although he knew his partner always gave one hundred and ten per cent with all their investigations, often alienating other police officers while trying to find out the truth, he had never seen Lou as determined to find the officer they were investigating guilty, even before they had all the evidence in yet to prove Kelly's guilt or innocence, as he seemed determined to find Kelly. "Why?" he asked cautiously.

"Because my gut tells me that there was something going on between Kelly and Williams. Something that ended with Kelly trying to kill a good cop today down in that bunker. And I still think that something has something to do with his kid!" Rodgers said softly as the elevator doors slid open and they stepped inside and turned to face the door. Slapping the button that would take them down to the ground floor and to the parking lot, Lou stared at the doors as they slid slowly closed before he added, with a vicious undertone to his voice that Ray had never heard before, "And I want to watch Kelly squirm when I tell him that he is facing a possible murder charge if Williams dies!"


	6. Chapter 6

Sitting in his patrol car, Duke looked up at Chin’s house. He was still feeling shellshock that Danny's condition had taken such an unexpected and drastic downward turn. Danny was agitated and confused, unable to understand what had happened to him or why he couldn't see when they had seen him in the ICU. The agitation and confusion was the result of the increasing pressure caused by the bruising and swelling of his brain, the doctor had softly explained.

He sighed as he opened the car door and climbed out. Kono had driven him back to HPD to collect his patrol car before the Hawaiian detective headed to the airport to pick McGarrett up after the lead detective’s plane landed. He did not envy Kono having to update Steve not only about Chin’s accidental shooting of Danny during the attempted arrest of Edwards and the subsequent IA investigation and Chin being beached until the investigation was finished but Kono now would have to break the news to Steve of Danny’s blindness. 

Since joining the Five-O team, Danny had done something that no one else had been able to do before, he had managed to break through the wall of aloofness that Steve had built around himself and quickly had become so much more than Steve’s subordinate and youngest detective. He had become Steve’s closest friend, his kaikaina, his ohana. He knew that Steve was not going to take the updates well and would probably demand that Kono take him straight to the hospital.

He sighed again as he slowly walked up the stairs that led up to Chin Ho’s house, dreading breaking the news of Danny’s blindness to the upset detective but he knew if he did not do it, Rodgers would. Walking up the front stairs, Duke took a deep breath before he raised his hand and reluctantly knocked on the door.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Pouring herself a cup of coffee, Suzie added some cream and sugar before she turned around and looked at her father, uncertain of what to say or just how to help. He had been sitting at the table, staring into his untouched and now stone-cold coffee for the last couple of hours. All her mother’s attempts to get him talking had ended in just one syllable answers or he had not answered at all. Biting her bottom lip, she desperately tried to think of some way that she could break through the wall that he seemed to have built around him while her mother was trying to settle the younger kids and put them to bed. Watching her normally strong and gentle father just sitting there lost in his grief and guilt, was terrifying.

She jumped in surprise, hissing in pain as some of the hot coffee spilled over her hand, as she heard the someone knocking on the front door. Casting another quick glance at her father, she sighed, if her father had heard the knocking, he never reacted to it, instead he continued to stare into his untouched mug of coffee. Placing her mug back down onto the counter behind her, she turned and hurried out to answer the door.

Opening the door, she was surprised to find Duke Lukela standing there. Like her father, the older man looked like he had aged in the last few hours, as he forced a small smile, "Hi, Suzie."

"Sergeant Lukela!" She felt the fear tighten her chest as she saw the worried look on the HPD sergeant's face. Moving aside to allow him to come in before she asked cautiously, "Has something happened to Danny?"

Duke swallowed hard as he stepped around her and looked around, relieved that it appeared the rest of the Kelly children were upstairs, probably doing homework or already in bed. Looking back at Chin’s eldest daughter, he nodded. “I’m afraid so, I need to talk to your father,”

Suzie nodded, wiping away a tear that trickled down her face and taking a deep breath as she attempted to stay strong for both her parents. Gently pushing the front door closed, she turned back to Duke, her voice trembling as she told him, “Dad’s in the kitchen.”

Following the young woman to the small kitchen, Duke paused for a minute as he watched Chin sitting as the table, his hand wrapped around the cup of untouched coffee that Duke suspected had was probably now stone cold. Chin looked lost in his own thoughts and Duke doubted that Chin was even aware of his presence behind him as he placed his hand on Chin's shoulder. "Chin?" When he received no reaction from the other man, Duke shook Chin's shoulder as he said a little louder, "Chin?"

Chin jumped, causing the cold coffee to splash over his hand as he felt a firm hand shake his shoulder and realized that someone was calling his name. Looking up, he was startled to see Duke standing beside him. He felt his chest tighten with fear as he asked, "Duke? What are you doing here? Has something happened-"

Duke swallowed hard and nodded, “I just came from the hospital, Chin-”

“And?”

Duke jumped as he heard Mai’s soft voice behind him and he looked over his shoulder to see her standing in the doorway, her face white with fear as she stared at him with wide frightened eyes, “Danny’s developed some complications from his head injury.”

“What kind of complications?” Chin managed to whisper.

“He’s… he's blind, Chin. The doctor said it could be because his brain was bruised when he hit his head on the ground after he…he was…” Duke swallowed hard as he forced himself to continue, “They said his brain is swelling. They've taken him up to the ICU."

Jumping up from the table, ignoring his chair as it toppled backwards and crashed to the ground, Chin rushed towards the door .

Grabbing Chin's arm, Duke stopped Chin's panicked egress from the kitchen as he demanded, "Chin, just where do you think you are going?"

"I'm going to the hospital!” Chin growled, shrugging free of Duke's light hold as he took another step towards the door. “I’ve got to see Danny. I’ve got to tell him that I’m-”

"Oh no, you're not, you're staying here." Duke told him firmly as he grabbed Chin's arm firmly again. "The last thing Danny needs right now is you to be arrested because you decided to disobey Rodgers's orders to stay away until they speak to him." Running his other hand through his grey hair, Duke looked at Chin, only too aware of how desperate Chin was to be next to Danny's side. Softening his tone, he said gently, "Look Chin, we both know that the IA guys are just glorified head-hunters and I don't know why but Rodgers seems determined to hang yours on his wall. I don't want to see you give him the chance to let that happen. So, for God's sake, Chin, we both know that at the moment you need to stay away."

"I don't care about Rodgers and IA's orders, I'm going!"

"Damn it, well I do care, Chin, even if you don't," Duke hissed angrily as his grip on his friend's arm tightened, preventing Chin from leaving, "because Danny’s going to need Steve, Kono and you now more than ever. The three of you are his ohana and you can't be with him when he needs you the most if Rodgers has you cooling your heels in a cell!"

"Duke's right, Chin," Mai nodded as she walked across and gently grabbed her husband’s arm, waiting until he looked down at her, "You need to stay here. Danny's going to need us, and you won't be here when he does if you are in a prison cell. I'll go -"

"I'm sorry Mai, but it's probably best if you don't visit Danny either, it’s probably better if no one in your family visits him for now." Duke told her softly.

Both Mai and Suzie turned and looked at Duke, surprised at his gentle suggestion.

“Why?” Suzie frowned in confusion. She could understand why it was probably best if her father did not visit Danny but not why anyone else in the family should also stay away.

"Because we have a couple of questions to ask you and your father down at the station about what led up to Detective Williams's shooting today," Rodgers announced as the three people in the kitchen spun around in surprise to find both Rodgers and Vernon standing in the doorway, watching them. Pulling out their IDs, the two IA officers showed their badges to Suzie and Mai as Rodgers introduced himself, "My name is Rodgers, Lieutenant Lou Rodgers, Internal Affairs, and this is my partner, Detective Ray Vernon." Reaching for Suzie's arm to guide her outside to their car, as Ray reached for Chin's arm, Lou added, "You know, Miss, you really should make sure that you have closed the front door securely because you never know just who could walk in."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

After ensuring that Chin and Suzie had been securely sequestered into two separate interview rooms on their arrival back to the station for questioning, Ray Vernon hurried down to the IA office to find his partner perusing Chin's and Danny's personnel files. "I put Kelly in the interrogation room near the holding cells and his daughter in the second interrogation room in Booking, just like you told me." He frowned as he watched his partner gather up several of the crime scene photos before placing them into a third manila folder. "So how do you want to handle this?"

"I'm going to interview Kelly's daughter. I want to find out if anything is going on between her and Williams that no one knows about and just what Kelly has told her about the shooting." Rodgers smiled as he held up the folder containing the photos as he added, "Maybe even shake her up a little and see what slips out."

"What about Kelly? Lukela's already trying to arrange for a union rep or a lawyer to be with him when we interview him."

"Let him sweat for a while. There's another interview that I want you to do first." Rodgers told his younger partner as they turned and headed towards the door.

"Who?" Ray asked in surprise.

"Williams." Rodgers answered succinctly, "I want to know just what he remembers about what happened in that bunker today and I want to know before McGarrett steps off that plane that should be landing-” He glanced down at his watch, checking the time before he looked back up at Ray, “in about twenty minutes. I figure that by the time the plane lands and he gets through the airport and Kalakuau fills him in on the shooting and the investigation, you have less than an hour to interview Williams before McGarrett arrives at the hospital and steamrolls over the doctors' objections about Williams not being well enough for visitors, so he can see Williams for himself."

Vernon stopped and turned to face his partner, frowning in confusion, "But Williams's condition has taken a turn for the worse and they've transferred him back to the ICU. There's no way the doctors are going to allow me to interview him."

Lou laughed, lightly slapping his partner on the shoulder as he said, "That's why you're going to slip into his room to interview him without going through all the rigmarole of asking them first and being told no, my friend. Now you better get going, times ticking down, and I have my own interview to do."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Lou Rodgers ignored all the HPD uniformed officers as he entered Booking and walked across to the interrogation room where Suzie was waiting, before opening the door and stepping inside and then closing the door firmly behind him. If being under the watchful eyes of the suspicious officers worried him, he never let it show.

Walking around the table placed in the middle of the interrogation room, he dropped three manila folders onto the table before he sat down and opened one of the folders. Ignoring the young woman sitting across the table from him, he slowly perused the file's contents, flicking over the pages.

Biting her bottom lip as she watched the IA officer, Suzie could not stop herself from shaking from fear. She had been separated from her father as soon as they had reached the station, and while she had been brought up to Homicide and placed in the interrogation room, she had no idea where her father had been taken or what was happening to him. "Where's dad? Is he okay?" she asked timidly when the officer did not speak.

"He's fine, he's just answering a couple of my partner's questions about Williams’s shooting." The IA officer answered distractedly as he pushed the file he had just finished perusing aside before reaching for the second file.

Glancing at the open file the IA officer had pushed aside, Suzie was surprised to see her father's photo clipped to the first page. Quickly looking across at the second, thinner personnel file the IA officer had opened in front of him, she spied Danny's photo as the IA officer flicked it over and began to peruse the other pages silently for several minutes without saying anything else.

Lou flicked back to Danny's photo and pretended to study it as he surreptitiously watched Suzie's reaction as he said, "You know Williams's not a bad looking, for a guy, bet he's a real ladies' man. Probably even has all the ladies chasing after him." Looking up from the photo and across the table at Suzie, he added softly, "Maybe, even you?"

Suzie looked up startled at the unexpected question, "What? … No! Danny's a -"

"A what? A friend? Is that what you call someone who is dating you these days? Oh, wait, I forget, Williams's a cop and your dad doesn't allow you to date cops, does he? " Lou cut her off as he looked back down at the file and flicked the photo back over to study the information on the page beneath it.

"No, we're not dating." Suzie protested.

"No, I guess you wouldn't be dating Williams, because you wouldn't disobey your father and date a cop, especially if the cop is Five-O's own Second-In-Command, would you?" Rodgers waved his hand, dismissing anything Suzie might have to say as he turned another page and glanced over it. "Seems Williams is quite bright, a university graduate, with one year of law at University of Hawaii under his belt before he transferred across to the mainland to Berkeley to study Police Science. Graduated top of his class before returning to Honolulu and joining HPD. One year in uniform as a rookie before being snapped up by McGarrett to be his partner in the most elite police unit in Hawaii - Hawaii Five-O. He wasn't even twenty-six years old, that's young for a Hawaii Five-O detective. One thing I will say about McGarrett, he knows talent when he sees it. Williams was certainly rising through the ranks, from what I have been told, he was expected to go far, maybe that's why your father shot him down in cold blood today. Maybe he was a little jealous of Williams’s success or maybe he was upset with Williams over something-"

"You're wrong!" Suzie gasped, shocked at the accusation that her father had deliberately gunned Danny down, "Dad would never-"

"Gun down Danny Williams in cold blood?" Rodgers growled as he grabbed the third folder in front of him and opened it, revealing photos taken from the crime scene. "Well, in his initial report about the shooting your father claims that he and Williams chased their suspect into one of the military bunkers on Diamond Head. Williams was in the lead when Edwards ran into the tunnel with your father following. He claims heard sounds of a struggle somewhere ahead of him before he heard two gunshots and when he reached the scene, he claims it was dark and all he could make out in the darkness was a figure kneeling over what appeared to be a body on the ground."

Suzie swallowed hard, feeling sick, as she listened to Rodgers so coldly retell her what her father had tearfully told them. "Dad told us," she managed to whisper.

"Ohh, he did, did he?" Rodger asked softly before he added, "Did he also tell you that although it was dark, too dark to see who was kneeling over the body on the ground, he was able to see the gun in figure's hand when figure stood up and turned towards him, but it was too dark for him to realize it was his partner?" Picking up the first, well-lit crime scene photo that had been taken before he and Vernon had arrived on the scene that showed Edwards's body sprawled on the ground only feet away from where Danny was lying, unconscious on the ground, being treated by the ambulance attendants before being taken away in the ambulance. He threw it across the table to land just in front of Suzie. "Now, does the area in the photo look too dark for your father not to have known it was Williams who was holding the gun? And if it was as dark as he claimed it was, then why didn't he give Williams the chance to identify himself?"

Suzie's face went pale as she stared at the photo, "But dad would never-"

"Shoot Williams." Rodgers finished her sentence.

Suzie nodded as she stared at the photo lying on the table in front of her.

"But he did, and he has already admitted to it, not only to us but to you as well." Rodgers told her gently, "But what he won't tell us is the reason why. So, come on, help me understand why a good cop like your father would suddenly turn on the man whom he only months ago recommended as Five-O’s Second-In-Command like this. Was there some sort of tension between him and Williams that we don't know about? Maybe you and Williams decided to break your father's rules and…"

"No, you're wrong! There was nothing going on between dad and Danny, and there was nothing going on between Danny and me. Danny's always behaved like a big brother towards me. Whatever happened today down in that bunker had to have been an accident, just like dad said it was!" Suzie insisted as the tears began to trickle down her face, "Dad would never have shot Danny intentionally."

"But he did," Rodgers reminded her coldly as he picked up several more crime scene photos before standing up and walking around the table to stand behind Suzie. Dropping the photos, some showed Danny lying unconscious on the ground being treated by the ambulance attendants and some showed the bloodstained floor where Danny had been lying, one by one, onto the table in front of her. "And I am going to find out the reason why." He warned her, "With or without your co-operation."


End file.
